Neurophysiology Guiding Rehabilitation after Spinal Cord Injury – Annulé

Monica Perez, PhD 

Dr. Perez is the Scientific Chair of the Arms + Hands Lab at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University, and a Research Scientist at the Edward Jr. Hines VA Hospital. She has studied neural mechanisms contributing to the control of voluntary movement in healthy humans and in people with spinal cord injury for over 15 years. Her research aims to understand how the brain and spinal cord contribute to the control of movement with the ultimate goal of using this mechanistic information to develop more effective rehabilitation therapies for people with spinal cord injury. This theme is mainly investigated from a neurophysiological point of view, using a combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic resonance imaging, electrical stimulation, and behavioral techniques.